22 Degree Halo

Here is a very short, but I think interesting post. 

I was sitting on our deck on 9/29/19, about 2:30 p.m., and saw this halo around the sun. I didn't know what it was called but checked first with my favourite expert on weather and sky related phenomenon, Jeanne, and then with Google. She told me it was called a 22 degree halo and is caused by ice crystals in the high atmosphere. Google agreed. 

Here is a link in case you're interested.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22%C2%B0_halo

One thing I picked up from the article is that this actually happens much more often than I was aware. I thought it was an oddity. It is not. I just hadn't noticed it before I guess. If you are surprised as well, start looking up more often. I plan to.  

It sure is pretty. 

To conclude this very brief look into the heavens, here is a video.     -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBM19zJ1310&feature=youtu.be

 It's shape is hard to determine.

 My camera lost focus, but this is interesting nonetheless.

This almost looks like it is dropping or fired two glowing things.

I zoomed in and got this last one. Look at that shape and how bright it is. 

Just before seeing this...object, I had been listening to the original broadcast of War of the Worlds.  Maybe my mind was open to fantastic speculations... anyway, I determined that what I was seeing was not a hyper-drive ship from another world...it was actually a reflection of light from the crystal cross hanging in the window. Although no sunlight is visible, there was a small hole in the clouds that shot a beam into our room and momentarily produced a mini-light show.  Hope you enjoyed it.   -djf

Auckland springtime

Good grief. In Michingan, the Upper Peninsula State Fair is over, the kids are back at school, color season is starting, and the geese will soon be heading south. (Hunting season not far away) 
Fall was always my favorite season. 

Here, we are seeing signs of spring all around us. I took a bus ride into Auckland recently and walked around for a time, just enjoying the beauty of a sunny Saturday morning. 

Take a look at what I saw. I started off in our backyard...

 I showed you a bowl of oranges on our counter as a recent header picture. This is what still remained on our tree when I took the picture. By the time you read this post, I think the tree will be picked clean.  

 And, while the oranges finally come off the tree, my fig starts its new summer of growth.

 I've come in to Auckland to walk a bit in the springtime sunshine. That's the New Zealand Mint building behind the trees. It's where I bought some silver coins once and the boys both held a kilogram of .999 pure gold.  

 New green on this tree in front of Auckland's Town Hall on Queen Street

 Burgerfuel, that bastion of meaty deliciousness, is tempting the vegans among us with its new hempburger.  I might just have to do some research. 
Now, if they'd come out with a Quornburger, I'd definitely be at the front of that line. 

 I've been here 7+ years but I still like to wander the city and gawk. 

Here's one for you, Dianne. It's still open and busy as.  I had to wait for a couple of ladies to clear out before I snapped this picture. 

 Another city view that has it all.

 Since it's Saturday morning, I've made my way over to the Morning Market behind Britomart.  I brought along a left-over meatball sub that Allie and Amiri made so I am not tempted to try anything offered here.
(I've given in plenty of times in the past.) 

 Our dear friend The White Lady is back at her spot about a block away from the Britomart Market. 

 So, why am I showing you this rather ugly picture?  Well, Auckland is building another rail line to serve the Western suburbs. (ours)  It starts at Britomart and runs beneath the city until it finally joins the Western Line at Mount Eden. The last time I walked by this spot, there was a trench in the ground 70 or 80 feet deep and half a mile long. It is the first stretch of the tunnel. 
Now it's filled in, and whatever work that needs to be completed will be done underground.  That's progress. Maybe this street will soon be returned to normal usage. 

 I'm taking a bus back to Henderson today and am passing St. Patricks's Cathedral on my way to the bus stop. It is here that I ate my sub and relaxed for 15 minutes. 
What a nice morning's walk I had. 
When I get back to Henderson, I'm going to nip into Pak n Save and buy a small container of sour cream. Jeanne is making enchiladas for dinner.    -djf 

Henderson times four

With this post, I'm going to show you some sights around Henderson. And each time I take a picture, I'm going to then turn 90, 180, and 270 degrees, and take a picture at each of those points. I'm not talking north, east, south and west here. Just right angles from wherever I start.  

Here's Swanson Road

Lincoln Road

Great North Road

Mt. Lebanon Lane. 

The library

Toward the mall

180 degrees right, coffee and sushi kiosks

There's Pak'nSave

Just up the hill from our house:

90 degrees

180 degrees

270 degees

Looking down Great North Road in the middle of Henderson.

A little courtyard in front of the mall.

Up GNR. That direction is homeward. 

Whoa...I've been spinning. I'm dizzy!                -djf

Paul Walsh, an artistic force in New Zealand

Those of you who regularly read my blog know that I have often used graffiti-style pictures in it that have been painted on walls, utility boxes, and other public places around Auckland.  Some of these were used as headers and others were included in the body of the post. I used this picture not long ago.  

 I never knew before who had done these paintings. I didn't even know if they were all done by the same person. I did some research though, after showing you this one and discovered the identity of the artist.  Wow, has he been busy.

The site below will give you information on him and show you many of his works. You'll recognise some of them from past posts I'm sure.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/entertainment/photo-gallery-auckland-straight-nz-graffiti-artist-paul-walsh-chats-our-art-scene-reveals-his-new-memorial-piece

The reason I bring him up now is that I was on K' Road just three days ago and I walked past the Rock Shop wall that had featured a young Aretha Franklin. I noticed that it had been painted over. This is the new mural.  

That kiwi bird is very well done, and I realize that it's an important memorial, but I miss seeing the 'Queen of Soul' on that wall. I've got the solution... click below for an Aretha who is a little older than she was portrayed on the Rock Shop wall, and at her very best...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vet6AHmq3_s

The reflection in the eye of the kiwi is of Christchurch and its mosque.  

This is located very near the Symonds Street end of K' Road. 

At the other end of K' Road, just about at Ponsonby, this new mural has also appeared. At the very center of the picture, a square has been left that shows a tiny section of the mural that had been on this wall for years. I never took a picture of the original because I didn't intend to use it for a post. You might say it would have been suggestive of an R-rating if it had been a movie, and I think of my blog as PG at most. But I like that the artist saved an innocuous portion of it. 

One of the pictures that you might have noticed on Paul Walsh's website is this one. The real thing is located here, right next to the mural just above. 

I read, while doing the research for this post, that Paul has also done a lot of work in Rotorua. (He grew up there.)  I'll be on the look-out the next time we get down that way and show you some of what he's painted in his home town, 'sulfur city.'                             -djf

Hello, Mister

Hi, we're back at Newmarket again and continuing to wander. Generally, when I walk here, I do so down Kyber Pass Road. Today, I decided to zag where I usually zig, and I took the street 'cross the railroad tracks and one block over instead. I agree with Robert Frost's famous finish, "And that has made all the difference."  I found a new place. 

These little shops are popping up all over Auckland. I came across this one just before 11 a.m. and watched as the staff of four got ready for the rush hour. 

I wasn't really hungry for lunch yet, but decided I had to try something so I ordered a cup of Pho, a soup with a really light broth and lots of bean sprouts and various greens in it. It was $3.00 for a large cup.  Miso soup for $2.50 or $3.00 is widely available in the sushi shops everywhere here, but those servings are not as large as this cup of soup is and does not have all the veggies this one has. Pho is a much better deal if you're looking for value for your soup dollar. 

I also ordered one Mister Roll. These come in many varieties. I had a braised pork one with hoisin chili dipping sauce. It has the meat, rice noodles and veggies, all rolled up in a see-through rice paper wrap, and comes with a dipping sauce. $4.00. 

After tasting it, I decided to bring two more home for Jeanne and Allie. (Two for $7.50.) 

I like this place. Simple. Really fast. Tasty. Super friendly. Inexpensive. I predict they'll prosper. 

As I sat on my stool, sipping my soup in front of my 55 gallon drum table, I saw a practically steady stream of young office workers from the businesses nearby, stopping in for the mister rolls or a banh mi. If it's popular with the 'kids,' it'll be a success.  A lot of those office workers were women I noticed and this low calorie, high veggie and rice noodle sort of lunch appeals to them I'm sure. 

I like this place. I think the drums used as tables remind us that this is street food. The kind that is purchased and taken back to the construction site by workers.   

After leaving Hello Mister, I continued up the hill that Carlton Gore Road climbs and came across this mural. It is of the War Memorial Museum.  

A Short distance away, as I reached the top of the hill, I saw the real thing in the distance. From here, I turned left and walked about half a block down to the train platform entry.  

I hope you've enjoyed this walkabout in Newmarket today. I know that I enjoyed preparing it for you. See you next time for another look at something, somewhere in New Zealand.   -djf

Go walkabout in Newmarket

I've taken you to Newmarket a number of times. You haven't been there for a while though and I'll just bet that you've forgotten most of what you saw. Shoot, I hadn't been to the place for about six months and we 'needed' just a couple of things from the Russian deli that we like. 

Let me show you last Saturday's Newmarket hike. 

 Waiting for the train at Sturges Road. As usual in the winter, another mini-storm is flying by bringing rain and a bow. 

 Here we are in Newmarket. 

 No leaves on the trees, just blossoms.

 Here is the busy Chinese market area on the ground floor of a multi-storied carpark. 

 What a price!  They are all over 2 kilos I'm sure. We're tried both frozen and fresh durian now and fresh is better. However, frozen is pretty good and it is literally half the price or less.  (Still expensive when you consider that you throw away most of the weight you've paid for. The husk is heavy, the fruit is a small part of the total.) 

Yet, durians fly off the market shelves...

 I love mangosteens but they're spendy too. Still, you can get a few without breaking the bank. 

 Dragon fruit looks so exotic but tastes so...  I'm always disappointed when I buy one.  If these fruits were really dragons, they 

certainly wouldn't be gold-loving Smaug* or even the somewhat dopey-looking Falcor^.  They don't taste that exciting. They're about as interesting as Puff" is, after he "sadly slipped into his cave."  

* from The Hobbit

^ from The Neverending Story

" from the song, Puff, the Magic Dragon

Continuing along, a the Chinese fish market.

 (abalone) 

From Chinese, we go to Russian/European/Kiwi

 I've come here to buy two things. I'll end up with a few more of course.

 The aisles are rather tight here. I have to move carefully. Although I don't have my backpack on today. I won't have to worry that I'll knock anything over as I turn. I brought the trolley instead. 

 Here is something different. The Russian version of Monopoly. I wonder when this was produced? I'm guessing fairly recently. You wouldn't expect to find such example of free-enterprise in a Communist country. 

The boys love Monopoly and use their New Zealand version of course. I also found a game at a garage sale just across the street from our house, that was produced in the 1950's and bought it for them, so now they have a collection.  

This would have been an interesting additon, but the price on it is $99.99. Nope.  

 This is what I came for. I'm fascinated by this. It tastes shrimpy. 

Do I believe that by eating a container of it a few times a year, that we're starving whales and penguins or contributing to global warming?  No, I don't. 
After reading up on this, I found that most countries that harvest krill have signed on to an agreement, written by Green Peace. 

 And nothing goes better with krill on crackers than a nice tall glass of low-sugar Kvas, the soft drink made from, and that tastes like, rye bread.  

This is the result of one of those, "Oh, oh, we haven't had any halva lately. Let's get some," moments.  

This Halva is very, very finely ground, sweetened sunflower seeds, mostly. It's good, but it does strange things to my throat sometimes when I eat it so I like to have a drink on hand to wash it down.

Time to walk on...
I think I'll save the rest of the walkabout for next time.... Be watching.            -djf